There were a few harmless drops of rain prior to the start, while the wind constantly changed direction. From second place, Vettel kept attached to pole sitter Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull while Raikkonen kept fourth place.

Then the classic Monegaque Sunday train set off around the 3,337 metre long track. The only one who was in DRS range, for the little it counts at this track, was Raikkonen, who was right up behind Hamilton. Stroll’s Williams got a puncture and pitted right in front of the leading duo.

After 12 laps, the first to change tyres was Hamilton taking on Ultrasofts. Vettel picked up the pace to cover off any possible undercut and Raikkonen also went flat out. On lap 16, the Number 5 car pitted with Vettel taking on Ultrasofts, managing to get out, as planned, ahead of Bottas. Ricciardo and Raikkonen also changed tyres, with Bottas coming in for the harder Supersofts. Out in front, no change, but the gaps grew a bit bigger.

On lap 28, Ricciardo’s pace dropped as he lost some of his power with technical problems and Vettel tried to make the most of it, using all the aids on the steering wheel. But this is Monaco and in the twisty bits, engine power counts for little, so that we had the usual paradox here that the leader manages the situation, going slower than those behind.

The other unusual feature is that the tyres, rather than getting worse, actually improve as the graining gradually cleans up. Vettel kept the pressure on Ricciardo right up to the closing stages, but the only chance here is if your rival makes a mistake.

There was still time for some drama, as Leclerc, having run out of brakes, collided with the back of Hartley at the tunnel exit, bringing out the Virtual Safety Car. McLaren’s Vandoorne who was lapped, pitted and came out right in front of Vettel, who thus immediately lost four seconds prior to the restart.

So, a low key finish, but a Ferrari on the podium and 30 points towards the Constructors’ championship in the knowledge that they were on the pace. “Thanks guys, the car was very strong,” was Vettel’s comment over the radio.

Maurizio Arrivabene: “Compared to the race weekend here last year, this one seemed more difficult right from the start. But thanks to the efforts of everyone in the team, the SF71H got progressively better, until it proved capable of taking second place in qualifying. However, on a track like this, it was not enough to produce an even better race result. Like everyone else, we opted for a one-stop strategy, which therefore meant having to manage the tyres in the second stint, so as to save them for the final laps. However, at that point, the Virtual safety car came out, meaning it was no longer possible to attack.”

Sebastian Vettel: “Today, I was trying to get closer to the car in front and do something; but obviously if you get closer it doesn’t help with your tires. In some corners you don’t really need power and Ricciardo was quicker than us. He was always able to open the gap and I was never really there. He could keep his pace and I think that perhaps it could have been worse for us if he hadn’t had some issues. Unfortunately, there weren’t many chances to do something different. I think it was tricky for us to make the tires work the right way. Then, when the Virtual Safety Car came on, a McLaren was just exiting the box and took a lot of time, while I was struggling with tire warm-up, and I think that was the biggest issue that cost me quite a few seconds. It took to me one and a half lap to get the rhythm back, but by then it was too late. However, there are so many races to go and I believe we need to understand our problems. We have a good car, but we can make it better.”

Kimi Raikkonen: “Today nothing really happened in the race; to be honest, it was a pretty boring one. We know that on this track, once everybody has stopped, whoever is in the front dictates the speed and no matter if he goes four second slower on a lap, there’s no way to pass unless somebody makes a big mistake or runs out of tires. We end up following each other through the whole race. I had no problem managing my tires, in fact they were pretty good. I only had some graining with the first set, but apart from that they were ok. I was never worried about Bottas behind me, we had the speed and I could easily close up with the car in front, but there was no way to pass him. We were all the time doing our best but couldn’t use our pace. Obviously, we cannot be happy with fourth position, but as always, we try to learn from every race.”

Photos: Scuderia Ferrari - 2018 FIA F1 World Championship